EFFECTIVE MEDIA RELATIONS STRATEGIES FOR CONTRACTORS INVOLVED W I T H TRANSPORT PROJECTS

Christopher Preece Krisen Moodley James Humphrey

Construction Management Group, University Of Leeds, Uk

1. I NTRO DUC TIO N

Contractors involved with transport projects are faced with a number of issues. How can they influence the many and diverse stakeholders of their businesses and projects? Many public transport projects are now very much in the political arena. Given increased private financing of projects and a more commercialised public transport system, customer service issues are becoming more important. With a more well organised environmental lobby and interested general public, firms need to look at ways of improving relations with clients, politicians, financiers and communities.

The image of transport and construction in the minds of these stakeholders is influenced to a large degree by the media at a national and local level Contractors need to give attention to establishing relationships and involvement with media editors and journalists throughout the project planning stages, construction phase and beyond. Contractors need to develop strategies for the handling of crisis situations which can be crucial in the coverage given to the finn and its work though print and broadcast media.

This paper will define a more effective approach to media relations strategies. It will detail the findings of research with media editors, news journalists in the print and broadcast media and those within contracting organisations who are currently involved in the implementation of media relations.

1.1 Current Situation

The image of the construction industry in recent years has been extremely poor and was highlighted in the Latham Report This view is unfortunately shared by other groups, such as the Government, clients and investors. Such opinions will continue unless the construction industry can shed this unwanted label, it will struggle to progress at the rate it should. Construction accounts for ten per cent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, and therefore it needs to be seen as the high profile, high technology, people friendly industry.

It is anticipated that the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Design, Build, Operate and Finance (DBOF) schemes will increasingly place the contractor in the spotlight, since they will adopt more of a client role. Construction organisations are now responsible for the maintenance and financial success of hospitals, infrastructure and other public buildings, thereby attracting the public's attention. As a result, the construction industry must prepare itself for an increased emphasis on promoting its image.

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A key component which determines the image something has in society is that of the media. Over the last fifty years, the media has grown into a multi-billion pound industry, affecting every single person. Its views and opinions are seen or read by millions of people every day, and as a result, it is highly influential. Which ever type of person an organisation wishes to influence, the media is there to either be helpful or unhelpful, depending on how it sees a particular issue.

Over the last few years, the media has not given particularly favourable coverage to the construction industry. Situations such as the Newbury bypass have gained much condemnation for the 'environmentally unfriendly' contractors, whereas spectacularly successful projects such as the second bridge across the river Severn hardly receive a mention.

As the media grows even more in stature, the situation could exaggerate further. This report is therefore designed to establish why such a situation has occurred, and what steps can be taken to rectify the situation. As far as the construction industry is concerned, action must be taken soon. Otherwise, it may be stuck with this potentially damaging image forever.

This paper sets out the background to media relations and the current state of media relations and attitudes of construction organisations.

1.2 What is Media Relations ?

As media relations is closely linked to Pubhc Relations, it makes sense to clarify this term before progressing further.

"Public Relations is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics" (Institute of Public Relations). The term publics refers to all the different stakeholders involved (directly or indirectly) with the organisation's activities.

"Media Relations, therefore, refers to the communication patterns between an organisation and those sections of the media which are interested in its activities" (Ridgeway 1996). It is by far the most important component of public relations.

To simplify this statement, the subject of media relations is concemed with how an organisation transmits its news and information about the way it conducts business to those institutions who will pass it on to the groups and individuals who are wanting to know. The main objective of media relations is to gain "Publicity'"

2. THE KEY COMPONENTS OF A MEDIA RELATIONS STRA'I'.EGY

Media Relations must always be viewed as an integral part of a total public relations programme and never something bolted on at the end (Black 1995). It does not simply "happen". There are basically five key components to a successful media strategy:.

2.1 Identifying Objectives All organisations, no matter how efficient, have problems or areas where improvements in public perception are necessary. Even if there are no real predicaments, there may still be issues which could be improved through the use of media relations. Until it has been decided why the media's services should be used, there is no point in using them at all.

2.2 Identifying Target Audiences When news occurs in an organisation, it must realise that only particular groups will be interested. It is futile to market such information at those who do not care. Therefore by focusing on distributing the knowledge to the sections of the market where the impact will be the greatest, the chances of gaining successful publicity are significantly increased.

2.3 Identifying Intermediate Audiences Efforts should now be made to locate the types of media institutions who concern themselves with the groups involved. Massive coverage may look good but it is less valuable if it appears in media which are not seen by your ultimate target audience (Ridgeway 1996). Effectiveness is only achieved if it is conveying the right message via the fight media to the right audience (Black 1995).

2.4 Selecting a Suitable Method of Communication There are many ways to communicate with the media, the important point to note is that different media institutions require news in different formats, and disobeying this simple rule could prove damaging.

3. MEDIA OUTLETS

The media can basically be split up into two separate sections; the national media, and local media. Local media outlets differ from national outlets in the respect that only a particular region of the population is focused on; the region where the organisation is based. Though smaller, they can be extremely useful because of the fact that a higher proportion of the readership is likely to be interested in the organisation's activities, since many will be employed or affected by the company in some form. The choice of media outlets is vast, but they can be categofised into five separate sections:

3.1 Newspapers Newspapers have been around for over two hundred years, and are the most established form of communication. The types of newspaper available vary in terms of importance and distribution, but all have valuable role for broadcasting messages.

National daffy newspapers are interested in a complete spectrum of information, as soon as it happens. Weekly editions are slightly different to daffy ones, in that there is far less current news and far more feature material. Local newspapers concentrate more on the regional spectrum and are therefore more likely to be interested in local stories.

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3.2 Magazines Magazines are similar to weekly newspapers, since they rely on feature articles to form the vast bulk of their information. The main difference lies in the fact that magazines are generally interested in only one subject. Consumer magazines are usually bought by the general public, and so are available in newsagents around the country. Trade magazines are the next catergory, the number of copies sold of these magazines is usually much less, since only those companies who have some connection with the magazine will purchase it. Those who read a magazine are doing so because they are specifically interested in that particular subject; there is less chance of the article being ignored by the reader. Such a situation makes specialist publications a very efficient method of advertising an organisation's activities.

3.3 Television & Radio The importance of television as a means of broadcasting information cannot be underestimated. With the potential growth of television, and its already highly influential effect on society, it is clear that an orgauisation which uses television effectively to broadcast its activities will gain a competitive advantage over those who do not.

Radio differs from television in the obvious respect that only sound is transmitted and not pictures as well. The potential for future growth in the radio industry is not as great as it is for television, leading to the impression that radio should be neglected. This is not the case (Bland & Mondesir 1987). The fact is that people actually listen to the radio. When people are listening to the words, it is easy to communicate ideas.

3.4 Other Outlets The interact is by far the least understood and yet potentially the most useful form of media outlet. As computers play a larger role in society, the need for communication via the information superhighway grows and grows. More people than ever before are using the "World Wide Web" to locate information and increase knowledge, and the number of available pages increases every single day. The irreversible growth in the interact means that organisations who wish to stay ahead must try to make efforts to advertise their services in some form on this medium.

4. TECHNIQUES OF COMMUNICATION

There are many different ways in which an organisation's activities can be broadcast, and it is important to remember this when trying to contact various media institutions. Otherwise, the effectiveness of the media campaign will be drastically reduced.

4.1 Press Releases Press or news releases are probably the most common type of material sent to media agencies. If an organisation urgently wishes to publicise news concerning its activities, it must make use of this type of communication.

In light of the speed of publication of news releases, there are guidelines to follow if the article distributed is to be accepted by journalists. Ridgeway suggest the following on how to write a good release (Ridgeway 1996).

An effective press release will tell the journalist: • Who? • What ? * Why? • Where ?. • When ?

( has made news ) ( has happened ) ( is it considered important ) ( did the event occur ) ( did it occur )

As with any form of communication, do not tell untruths or exaggerate facts that cannot be proved when writing news releases. It is a good idea to have more detailed information of the event on hand, in case journalists are interested in the article and would rLke additional information. It is then easy to satisfy the media's needs if called upon. Naturally, for this to happen it is imperative that a contact name, address and telephone number are included at the end of the release; surprisingly many organisations forget to do this simple task.

4.2 Captioned Photographs The phrase 'A picture is worth a thousand words' is well known. Captioned photographs are similar to press releases, except that a picture to demonstrate the event or activity is included to enhance the importance. The rules of effective releases also apply to captioned photographs. Deciding what photograph to include in the caption is not as easy as it sounds. It must be relevant to the organisation's activities, and more significantly, it must appear interesting or exciting.

4.3 Feature Articles Feature articles, or editorials differ from releases in the respect that they are much longer. This gives the organisation a chance to sell itself and its activities more than it would have in a brief press release. From a control point of view, this is advantageous, since the message is conveyed exactly as the organisation wishes. However, since it has been written by a member of the organisation, it may be seen by the reader to simply be a cheap form of advertising (Smith 1994).

Credibility derives from third party endorsement (Dibb et al 1994). If the journalist or some respected personality alters the article and gives their opinion on the organisation, the article is seen from an impartial viewpoint. The obvious disadvantage to this is that the chance of the article being misinterpreted increases. Since feature articles take a relatively long time to prepare, they should not be used for trivial items of news, when a simple press releases would suffice. The number of outlets to which the article is sent should also be more carefully considered and reduced to maximise effectiveness.

4.4 Television I Radio Interviews The huge potential for television and radio has already been discussed. There are opportunities to promote and publicise a company's present and future activities, although caution must be exercised. In such a high pressure environment, a strategy needs to be pursued if spokespersons for the organisation are to come across effectively in an interview.

The only people who should attend an interview to represent the organisation are those who are fully conversant With its activities. Usually this will bea senior director

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or manager. In the construction industry for example, the project manager may be the ideal representative for an interview.

Preparation is vital. It is all too easy to assume that because the spokesperson possesses significant knowledge about an company, they will be able to answer all the questions asked of them. This is unwise, since interviewers will deliberately try to ask questions which show the good and bad points about the organisation's activities. If the negative questions can be anticipated, a response can be prepared which could turn a potential disaster into favourable publicity.

4.5 Press Conferences A press conference is an event arranged by an orgauisation where representatives from the media are invited to attend, in order to receive a message or opinion from the organisation. Its most significant use is where other forms of communication cannot convey the messages quickly enough.

The question should always be asked as to whether the conference is really necessary. Factors which will answer this question will be:

• Whether speed of communication is essential. • Whether the importance of the news justifies the event. • Whether the news so complicated as to warrant experts demonstrating it. • Whether a product is so new, it must be seen in person to be appreciated.

Preparing for a press conference is similar to preparing for a television or radio interview. Literature concerning the event should always be handed out to all those present at the conference. This ensures that if a speaker fails to orally convince the media of their intended message, the information in the written form can be used as a back-up. Follow up contacts should also be available.

4.6 Advertising and Sponsorship Advertising means to pay a media institution in order to display a chosen message. Sponsorship is similar; here an organisation's name is linked to some team or personality or event.

Strictly speaking, advertising and sponsorship are general responsibilities of the organisation's marketing department. If those responsible for media relations in an organisation are informed on its advertising and sponsorship activities, efforts can be made to maximise the potential publicity such activities will produce.

5. MEDIA RELATIONS & CRISIS MANAGEMENT

The use of media relations for everyday situations and special events has already been discussed. However, an even more important situation can arise where the effective use of the media in a crisis can make or break an organisation. Organisafions spend large amounts of time and money on promoting a professional and caring image. Even so, it is still possible that a corporate tragedy could occur which may tarnish its image beyond repair. Basically, when a tragedy occurs, people wish to know three criteria:

• That the organisation had done everything it could have to prevent the tragedy. • That in spite of the tragedy occurring, it had anticipated the problem and it is able to rectify it as quickly as possible. • That the organisation is able to look at the situation from a human point of view as well as a financial one.

To survive a disastrous event occurring, an organisation must actively involve the media to demonstrate these three key issues, and adopt a strategy for dealing with them (Black 1995). This strategy is very similar to the one for day to day media relations, except that it will need to be implemented much more quickly than usual. Therefore, all staff must know their responsibilities regarding appropriate sections of the media for a given situation, so that if called upon to give information they are able to effectively. To be sure the strategy will be successful, it is worth testing it on a mock crisis from time to time.

6. EVALUATING MEDIA RELATIONS STRATEGIES

Employing staff or an external public relations consultancy to manage relationships costs money. As a result, it is imperative that organisations achieve the maximum amount of publicity for a given amount of resources. Evaluation is required to monitor if the strategies are correct.

The most primitive approach is to measure 'column inches'; the number of columns of press coverage regarding the orgauisation in local and national newspapers. Press cutting agencies take this further where not only is the total amount of coverage monitored, but the relative impact of each article is noted. Articles published are given a rating by the agency, depending on the type of newspaper and location in it, the amount of third party commentary, and other factors such as whether contact names and telephone numbers have been included to assist those readers who would like to enquire further. This type of evaluation is designed to measure the quality of the coverage rather than the quantity.

Television and radio coverage can also be monitored using the 'column inches' approach, although 'time on air' will be the variable measured.

The whole process of selecting a suitable form of media outlet must be evaluated constantly to ensure that the groups who need to be contacted have been contacted. One way of achieving this is to obtain feedback from the marketing department, whose market research should suggest whether the coverage has had a beneficial impact on the desired groups.

The beneficial impact should be awareness and improved reputation, rather than increased sales however. The media relations function is not directly responsible for advertising or other marketing techniques, merely to convey a positive corporate image.

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7. M E T H O D O L O G Y OF RESEARCH

Questionnaires were sent out to seventy five construction organisations in the United Kingdom. From this sample, thirty companies responded. The size of the companies involved varies greatly but from a sensible but as yet unproved perspective, larger organisations are likely to use the media significantly more than smaller companies. Therefore, a balanced view would not be obtained if only the "top twenty" contractors were consulted.

The questions asked in the survey covers all the main aspects of media relations highlighted earlier:

• When the media is contacted. • Attitudes towards the media. • Methods of communication with the media. • Crisis Management. • Evaluating media relations. • Plans for the future.

The key features of these results are summafised below.

8. RESULTS

Fig 1

How Important Media Relations Is to Construction Organisations

Imperative Unimportant Not too 3% important

27% 27%

Important 43%

The response to this question (fig I) is fairly mixed. The most frequent response think that media relations is an important issue, and for every reply stating it is imperative, there is another stating that it is not worth too much consideration.

Fig 2 What Proportion of people In The PR / Media Department Have

Had Specialist Training For Media Relations Work ?

All 11%

Most ~ None 22% ~ 41%

Some 26%

In Fig.2 the largest category in this graph states that nobody in the public relations department of construction companies has had any sort of specialist training to deal with the media. This does suggest that there may be a lack of media skills within construction firms.

Fig 3

When News Occurs In Your Company, How Often Do You Contact The Media ?

Sometimes Never Always 23% 0% 17%

About Half T h e ~ o s t Of The Time Time 20% 40%

This result shows that in Fig. 4 there is a reasonable recognition of the need to contact the media. A later response will show how effective this process is.

On Which Issues Does Your Company Contact The Media?

Other

New Projects W on Annual Profits /

Turnover

Environmental Friendliness

New Innovation in the Industry

Employee Additions / Reductions

5 10 15 20 25 Frequency

Fig5

30

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In Fig 5 there is a fair split as to when construction companies contact the media. "Other" issues warranting contact include interesting projects nearing completion, sponsorship activities, industry awards, technical achievements, general growth and topical industry issues.

Fig6

Which Audiences Are Important To Your Company ?

Other Architects 18o/. 15% Engineers

Suppliers 5'/.

General Public 3%

Clients 39% Gowwner~

14%

Fig 7

Who Do You Aim Y o u r News At In T h e M e d i a ?

Other

LoealTV / Radio

Nat lona lTV / Radio

Rela ted M a g a z i n e s

New Clv l ]Engineer

Local N e w s p a p e r s

F inanc ia l T i m e s

Nat iona l N e w s p a p e r s

Reuters / N e w s A g e n c i e s

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 F r e q u e n c y

The most popular type of media outlet is the trade press. "Other" types of media mentioned include the internet and overseas media. The responses in Fig 6 and Fig 7 show a potential mismatch. Clients, the government and other interested parties are unlikely to be in contact with trade related joumals. This means that the target audiences of construction companies are often missed by falling to match the targets and the placements.

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Fig. 8 How Well Do You View Your Relationship With The Media ?

Not Very Good Excellent 20% 17%

Reasonable 63%

From Fig.8 it is apparent that most of the companies survey feel that they have a positive relationship with the media.

Fig9 How Effective Are The Press Releases Sent Out ?

Quite Bad 10%

Good ~ Average 50% ~ 40%

Useless 0%

Fig 10

How Effective Are The Captioned Photographs Sent Out ?

Good Useless 23% 0%

Quite Bad 46%

Average 31%

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Fig 11 How Effective Are The Feature Articles Sent Out ?

Quite Bad Good 4% 30%

Useles~ Average 0% 66%

Fig 12 How Effective Are The Press Conferences You Hold ?

Good Useless 25% 0%

Average 17%

Quite Bad 58%

By far the most common communication technique is press releases. Every single company questioned used them at least sometimes. Captioned Photographs and feature articles are used as equally as much as the other, but press conferences are very rarely used, with the majority of construction companies not using them at all. Overall, press releases are seen to be by far the most effective communication method by the representatives questioned. Feature articles are also seen to be effective, whereas captioned photographs and press conferences are not used with confidence.

Figure 13 What Do You Blame The Generally Low Success Rates of Press

Releases and Other Articles On ?

Another Reason 13%

Media Not Being ~ ~ Interested ~ Poor Quality

60% 27%

The other reasons emerging from this question (fig 13) include too much competition from other industries, and construction press releases containing news which is simply too similar. Most companies were prepared to continue with theire efforts despite these views. An acceptance that there are problems with quality indicate that the problem can be possibly resolved.

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8.1 Crisis Management

Of the companies replying, 33% have a formal strategy in place for coping with crisis situations. 67% do not.

Fig 14

In Crisis Situations, Who Would Take Responsibility For Dealing With The Media ?

Ou

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Frequency

The term "another person" on the graph (Fig 14) refers to the person having responsibility for media relations where an official PR department does not exist. This usually means a marketing director. These reults show that the companies are better prepared for dealing with reactionary problems.

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8.2 Evaluating Effectiveness

How Is The Effectiveness Of The Company's Media Strategy Monitored ?

Other Method

Not Monitored

GenerN Financial Success

Success Rate Of Articles

Market Research

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Frequency

Fig 15

"Other" methods include assessment by media specialists, and internal monitoring by chairmen. Figure 15 indicates that the methods used are relatively crude with insufficient impact studies.

8.3 Future Developments

70% of those responding thought that media relations could be significantly improved in their organisation. Methods to achieve this included more resources into employing professional PR staff, training existing staff better, concentrating on controversial issues, liaising with the media more, and assessing what the media's needs actually a r e .

When asked whether media relations could be improved significantly within the construction industry, 90% of the companies who replied thought that it could. The remaining 10% thought that it could not. More industry co-operation is the one improvement suggested more than anything else with regard to improving the situation. Another method is to allow other public relation techniques to improve the public's perception of the image, thereby making the media more interested in what construction companies have to say.

9. CONCLUSIONS

Having presented the results, it is now possible to draw up gener~ conclusions regarding the use and effectiveness of media relations in the construction industry:

Construction organisations axe aware that their relations with the media are not very good, and they would like to see the situation improved. However, very little is being

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done within these companies to rectify the situation. Construction organisations do not contact the media anywhere near as often as they should. More importantly, the do not make contact in an efficient manner, reducing the likelihood of successful publicity.

Construction organisations generally have no formal policy for dealing with the media, even though it has been stated that this is where the media can be most helpful or damaging. When these situations occur, they are not as open and honest with the media as they should be. Relevant project managers are not involved with the media in these situations, even though they may be the ones with the most useful information. Television and national press coverage may suffer as a result.

Certain types of media outlet are more applicable to the construction industry than others. Trade publications are used frequently, and they will be able to be used still in the future. Local media is rarely used, and the use of it should be increased. The use of national media is virtually non existent. National newspapers and television are generally not overly interested in the construction industry, and this will continue to be the case until the industry itself improves dramatically. There is scope for the very large contractors to use these media outlets more frequently than at present though.

The internet is as yet vastly undernsed in the construction industry, and it provides much potential for those who are willing to put efforts into using it. It provides free advertising, and will reduce the workloads of media representatives.

There is concern throughout the industry for improved media relations, and various bodies and councils have been set up to address the problem. However, there are now too many in existence, and this is causing confusion and a further lack of co-operation and effectiveness. Smaller construction companies are not involved enough in these co-ordination efforts, thereby reducing their chances of success.

Evaluation of media strategies is not as common in construction organisatious as it should be, with smaller companies being the worst culprits. The techniques of evaluation are often basic, and new media outlets and techniques of communication are never spotted. This means that media strategies are not effectively improved, resulting in the potential publicity being drastically reduced.

Those responsible for media relations in construction organisations do not generally have adequate qualifications and experience to handle the task in an effective manner. Far too many people have entered the position with a traditional construction background, and they are not completely aware of effective ways to deal with the media; the situation is worst in smaller companies. The addition of experienced public relations professionals is vital if successful media strategies are to be developed.

The media is not deliberately hostile towards the construction industry, and would like to see the present situation improved just as much as the construction organisations themselves. They are not prepared to make the necessary efforts to achieve this however. Their lack of understanding and involvement severely restricts the effectiveness of the company's media strategy.

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Media representatives are sceptical of journalists, and are partly correct with this belief. Journalists in mass media outlets often neglect the construction industry, and do not give it the credit it deserves. A fairer attitude on their behalf is required if the situation is to be truly improved.

REFERENCES

Black, S; (1995) "The Practice of Public Relations.", p13; Butterworth-Heinemann.

Bland, M & Mondesir, S; (1987)"Promoting Yourself On Television and Radio", p7; Kogan Page.

Dibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferrell; (1994) "'Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, 2nd Edition", p429; Houghton Mifflin.

Institute of Public Relations; (1995) "'Professionalism in Practice", p4.

Ridgway, J; (1996) "'Practical Media Relations", p5; Gower.

Smith, P.R; (1994) "Marketing Communications - An IntegratedApproach", p276;

Clays Ltd.

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